When Overhead Door, the largest North American manufacturer of upward acting doors and second largest garage door opener manufacturer in the world, made the decision transition from JD Edwards HCM to Cloud HCM for their HR System, the transition didn’t happen overnight. This is their story.
Decision-Making
In 2011, Overhead Door realized a need to move the entire company to new system. They had recently acquired another company, Wayne Dalton, which allowed the company to expand its commercial customer base into the residential market. At the time Wayne Dalton was on its own system, and Overhead Door was on JD Edwards.
At the time, the landscape at Overhead Door looked like this:
- On-Premise Solutions: EBS Finance, EBS Manufacturing, and EBS Supply Chain
- Cloud Solutions: Marketing CX, Field Service Cloud, Service CX, and Human Capital Management (HCM)
- Platform Solutions: Master Data Management (MDM), WebCenter Connect, Business Intelligence, Fusion Middleware
In addition to these tools, Overhead Door was using JD Edwards, MXP, Avante, Amigas, and QuickBooks to keep operations running smoothly.
When deciding which system to move through, Overhead Door considered three options:
Option 1: All EBS
Approach: Stay with original approach availing full functionality of EBS Suite.
Application Suite:
- Payroll: EBS
- Core HR: EBS
- Talent: EBS
- Benefits: Outsourced
Deployment Model: Hardware and software maintaining in Overhead Door data center
Option 2: Cloud, EX EBS, Payroll
Approach: Deploy Payroll on EBS platform; deploy talent functions (performance comp, and BI) on cloud
Application Suite:
- Payroll: EBS
- Core HR: Oracle Cloud
- Talent: Oracle Cloud
- Benefits: Outsourced
Deployment Model: Hardware and software maintaining in Overhead Door data center
Option 3: All Cloud
Approach: Migrate core HR to Oracle Cloud; deploy Payroll on Oracle Cloud; deploy talent functions (performance comp, and BI) on Oracle Cloud
Application Suite:
- Payroll: Oracle Cloud
- Core HR: Oracle Cloud
- Talent: Oracle Cloud
- Benefits: Outsourced
Deployment Model: Software-as-a-Service (all layers of the stack outsourced)
In the end, Overhead Door elected to go All Cloud and implement Cloud HCM.
Cloud HCM Implementation
Since the cloud migration project was going to be massive, the leaders called it Project Everest.
In 2015, Overhead Door launched a 9-month implementation for Oracle Cloud HCM with Hitachi serving as an implementation partner. They branded the project from the very beginning, encouraging employees to take control of their own HR information. Once the new system was live, they used a gamified approach to get people involved and excited about Employee Self-Service.
Project Everest Timeline
Overhead Door established the following implementation timeline for Project Everest:
- 2012 – Digital transformation journey begins
- Sept 2013 – Go-live with TODCO and Corporate (rocky start)
- April 2014 – Go-live with Horton and Door Services (rocky road)
- Jan 2015 – Go-live with Overhead Door HR (turnaround point – successful implementation)
- Aug 2015 – Go-live with Genie (successful)
- July 2018 – Go-live with ASD Plant (successful)
- Aug 2020 – Go-live with ASD Corporate (successful)
- May 2021 – Go-live with ASD Plant (successful)
- Oct 2021 – Go-live with OHD Parts (successful)
- Currently in progress – ASD Ohio Plant and ASD Sales Centers
Starting with the ASD Ohio Plant, implementation is broken down into phases rather than going live with the full operation at once. For the Wayne Dalton Sales Center, brand locations were sequenced and phased in over an extended period.
Each implementation has been challenging in its own way. According to the project leaders, team member dedication and commitment has been essential to managing all aspects of the systematic and operational changes.
Cloud HCM Successes
As Project Everest began and Overhead Door implemented Oracle Cloud HCM, they identified several key successes:
- Workflow: Previously, workflow was an internal application built for limited use. There were two applications which were not connected, so duplicate entry and paper forms were required. The new Workflow integrated data, showed notifications, populated emails, and eliminated redundancy.
- Performance and Compensation Workbench: P&C Workbench eliminated Word documents for Performance Appraisals and eliminated Excel spreadsheet compilation, distribution, maintenance, and assembly.
- Self-Service: Self-Service eased HR’s workload by eliminating printed checks and pay slips. Self-Service gave individuals access to pay history and benefits, showed training programs, and promoted internal job opportunities. Self-Service improved the manager’s experience with access to directory/team member information, comp workbench, performance appraisals, learning/training programs, and recruiting.
Cloud HCM Go-Live Lessons Learned
Throughout the Oracle Cloud HCM implementation process, Overhead Door learned some valuable lessons:
- Workforce Structure: There were a few challenges with workforce structure due to a variety of Divisions, Business Groups, Business Units, Departments, and International reporting requirements.
- Local taxation: Everything went smoothly related to state and federal taxation, but local taxes were set up wrong in the legacy system. Additionally, not all required taxes were set up with ADP.
- Interface Setup: As they began building interfaces, they ran out of budget. Instead of building the rest on their own, Overhead Door partnered with an aggregator. Today, they stress the importance of starting early and engaging vendors quickly to understand their testing/certification process.
- People (Staffing, Processes/Workflows, Reporting, System Education): The complexity of payroll requirements was higher than the team was used to, so they had to change staff and adjust the entire payroll department.
- Partnership (Oracle Partnership Management): Overhead Door recommends treating Oracle as a strategic partner and not just a tactical supplier. Getting your team to attend HCM World and OHUG is extremely helpful. Early adopter access gave Overhead Door quarterly updates and better access to the product development team.
Overhead Door Since Cloud HCM Go Live
Looking back, the team says it hasn’t been an easy journey, but it’s certainly been worth it. For instance, Overhead Door faced a cyber-attack in December of 2018, and since they had already moved to Oracle Cloud, they managed to minimize business impact.
Events at Overhead Door Since Go-Live
- 2015/2016 – ACA reporting
- 2016 – ICMS to Taleo/MyLearn
- 2017 – Move to Newsfeed UI
- Dec 2018 – Overhead Door Cyber Attack (400 servers across the company went down right before Christmas, but it didn’t disrupt the business. Being in the cloud enabled them to complete payroll.)
- Dec 2021 – Kronos Cyber Attack (Overhead Door was on the Kronos server, so this was a really tough year.)
- 2020 – Mobile Roll-Out (Eliminated print documents, moved to a microsite, and made annual enrollment available on mobile phones.)
- 2021 – Launch Canada payroll
In 2020, Overhead Door hired a new Director of HRIS and put together a new roadmap for productivity, data integrity, system optimization, and ongoing health checks to identify areas needing updates. This proactive approach helps them remove unnecessary workarounds and set the system up for future releases.
With the roadmap in hand, the team knows which areas deserve the biggest investment, like productivity savings, turnover impact, and compliance risk. This information helps them build a case and get approval to move forward on critical initiatives.
What’s Next for Overhead Door?
The most recent advances include the move to ORC from Taleo and using Journeys for onboarding and annual enrollment. Moving forward, they plan to continue to use Journeys for pulse checks, wellness program participation, and leading at ODC.
Throughout 2024, Overhead Door will continue investing in:
- Digital Adoption – Payroll and Benefits Administration, Dashboards and Reports
- Data Integrity – Business Process Review/Training
- System Optimization – Yearly HR & Comp Health Checks, Yearly Benefits & Talent Health Checks, Yearly Payroll & UKG Health Checks
- HCM Modules Implementations – Talent Profile, Talent Review, and Success Planning, Work Life Wellness/Volunteering, Sales Incentive Comp
- Ongoing critical activities across HR & Talent, Benefits & Comp, Payroll & Kronos, Quarterly Patch Testing
Want More?
To learn more about Overhead Door’s Cloud HCM migration watch this session presentation at Quest’s BLUEPRINT 4D conference: JDE Migration 5 years later.
For more on cloud migration, check out the Quest Learn Library, and to connect with other users like Overhead Door who have moved or are considering a move to the cloud, consider joining Quest’s Move to Cloud Group.
For more sessions like this one, consider attending an Oracle Cloud Quest Event.